Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I spoke to a few Ohio voters today using the Obama Web site's Neighbor to Neighbor program. I wish I had known about Obama's "American Stories" broadcast tonight (7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. on the coasts). I totally would have told the one undecided voter I spoke with to watch that. He already sounded like he was leaning Obama -- he was a 23-year-old who was concerned about perpetual war, the high cost of college and healthcare, the economy. He said his only concern about Obama was all the programs he wanted to introduce would mean so much new spending. I think either that guy will end up voting Obama, or he's a racist and just wouldn't fess up to me.

The other voters I spoke with -- a 70-year-old barber, an older woman who has custody of her grandchildren, and another older woman -- were all in favor of Obama, and two of them had voted already.

I was pretty nervous to make the calls. It was excruciating, actually, psyching myself up for it. But it turned out to be easy and enjoyable. I was surprised by how willing the folks I reached were to talk about their views with me, especially the undecided guy. Really, most of them would have stayed on the phone longer if I'd needed them too. Of course, there's not much hanging on the phone with someone who's already voted.

The Web site software is really easy to use, by the way, and ideal for busy people. You can log on and make just one call or a bunch. You save some data about the call as you go along -- like, when you ask who the person is supporting, you fill in a bubble on the Web form. I can go back to it tomorrow and pick up where I left off.